"Ron's got himself a Howler!" Seamus Finnigan's eyes bulged at the bright red envelope that hovered inches away from Ron's trembling face.

"Don't worry, Ron." Hermione said, carefully lifting Errol - the Weasleys' pet owl - out of her bowl of cereal and pushing it away from her,"He's alright. Just a bit wet. Look, you have to open that letter, or you'll be in even more trouble than-" She squealed as a grey owl flew straight into her milk jug, knocking it over. In it's beak was a letter addressed to Hermione.

Peering at it, Harry could recognise the handwriting as whichever one of her parents had written her birthday card from last September. He looked up at Hermione, who was already looking at him. Her face had gone very pale, but she stuffed the letter into her bag, gave the school owl a treat and turned back to Ron.

"Well? Are you going to open it?" She asked him bossily.

"Erm...I dunno..."

"You'd better open it." Neville said anxiously,"I ignored a Howler from my gran once - it was horrible."

"What's a Howler?" Harry asked timidly, suddenly feeling rather stupid.

"I don't know." Hermione looked wearily at the envelope,"But it doesn't look too good."

They turned to Ron, but his whole attention was fixed on the letter; it had begun to smoke at the corners and was trembling quite aggressively.

"Open it, mate. It'll all be over with in a few minutes." Seamus grinned.

"Probably." Dean Thomas covered his mouth to hide his smile.

Ron took a deep breath,"Okay, here goes nothing!" He stretched out a shaking hand and peeled the envelope open. Neville, Dean and Seamus stuffed their fingers into their ears. A second later, Harry and Hermione knew exactly why. A roar of sound filled the entire Great Hall as Molly Weasley's voice screeched:

"Ronald Weasley, how dare you steal that car? I am absolutely disgusted! You, Harry and Hermione could have all been killed! Your father's now facing an inquiry at work, and it's entirely your fault! If you put another toe out of line, we'll bring you straight home!" The terrifying voice softened,"Oh and Ginny, dear, congratulations on making Gryffindor; your father and I are so proud." With that, the envelope burst into flames, crumpled up and fell into the large pool of milk on the table.

Nobody in the entire Great Hall was talking. Every eye in the room was on the trio, who were all a very deep shade of crimson. As Neville, Dean and Seamus unplugged their ears slowly, the trio shared anxious looks. Now everyone in the whole school knew what they had done. Looking around him, Harry could see most of the Gryffindor table glaring icily at them.

***********

Their first lesson of the day was Herbology with Professor Sprout. As the trio made their way down to the greenhouses, however, they met Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Oh, hello there! Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow. But I don't want you all running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is; I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels!" He winked and flashed them a gleaming smile.

A huffy-looking Professor Sprout had appeared and instructed them to go to greenhouse three instead of greenhouse one. Ron, Harry and Hermione went over and began to walk in, but, as Harry reached the entrance, Lockhart placed a firm hand on his shoulder and asked Professor Sprout whether it would be okay to borrow Harry for a minute. Before she could answer, Harry felt himself being pulled off by Lockhart.

"Harry, Harry, Harry..." He shook his head dramatically,"I couldn't believe it when I heard. It's all my fault, of course."

"Erm..." Harry didn't know what to say,"Sorry, Sir?"

"I could have kicked myself. Gave you the taste for publicity, didn't I? Gave you the bug. You got the front page of the paper with me and you couldn't wait to do it again."

"Wha-? Oh, no, Professor, see-"

"Harry, Harry, Harry..." Lockhart reached out and stroked Harry's hair,"I understand. Natural to want a bit more once you've had that first taste - and I blame myself for giving you that, because it was bound to go to your head - but see here, young man, you can't start flying cars to try and get yourself noticed. Just calm down, alright? Plenty of time for that when you're older. And yes, I know what you're thinking! 'It's all right for him, he's an internationally famous wizard already!' But, when I was twelve, I was just as much of a nobody as you are now. In fact, I'd say I was even more of a nobody! I mean, a few people have heard of you, haven't they? All that business with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" He glanced pointedly at the lightning scar on Harry's forehead,"I know, I know - it's not quite as good as winning Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award five times in a row, as I have - but it's a start, Harry, it's a start!"

Harry - very taken aback - did not have the willpower or patience so argue, so just said,"Right."

"Good, good. Well, I think that's about everything. Off you trot, then!"

Still completely bewildered, Harry nodded and walked hastily back into the greenhouse and stood between Ron and Hermione.

"-hush, Mister Weasley! Right then, we will be repotting Mandrakes today. Can anyone tell me the properties of a Mandrake?" Mrs. Sprout gazed across the second year class expectantly.

To no one's surprise, Hermione's hand shot up into the air,"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative. It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state."

"Perfect! Ten points to Gryffindor. The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

Hermione's right hand narrowly missed Harry's glasses,"The cry of a Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it."

"Precisely. Take another ten points."

Ron muttered furiously to Harry as they put on their fluffy earmuffs,"She probably swallowed the whole bloody textbook."

"I can hear you, Ronald." Hermione's face was stony as she patted each side of her earmuffs to make sure that they were on properly.

Once Professor Sprout had shown the class exactly what to do, they all set about trying to repot Mandrakes in groups of four. Ron, Harry and Hermione were joined by a tall, curly-haired Hufflepuff whom none of them had met before.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley." He shook Harry's hand,"Know who you are, of course! Cor, I'll say nothing short of everyone knows Harry Potter! And you're Hermione Granger," Justin shook Hermione's hand vigorously,"always top in everything!"

Hermione beamed.

"And," he continued,"you're Ron Weasley. Wasn't that your flying car?"

Ron didn't smile.

"That Lockhart chap's really something, isn't he?" Justin said cheerily as he began filling his plant pot with soil,"Awfully brave. Have you read his books? I'd have died of fear if I'd been cornered in a telephone box by a werewolf, but he stayed cool and - zap! - it was just fantastic!"

As polite and innocent as Justin was, he would not stop prattling on about how great and immensely courageous Lockhart was.

"I only read his books because it was compulsory to do so and, personally, I don't believe any of it." Hermione said matter-of-factly,"It's ridiculous, really, that someone could do so much and want to brag about it like he has."

Justin's eyes narrowed,"Well, someone has to have done all of those things, haven't they?" He snapped.

Hermione raised her eyebrows,"Perhaps. But I really don't think they would all have been done by the same person. Especially not him."

"Well I never!" Justin looked as though he was about to explode.

"Mister Fletchley, keep your voice down or we'll have to stick you in a pot of soil to save our eardrums." Professor Sprout ordered.

"Hmph!" Justin didn't look at or speak to Hermione for the remainder of the lesson.

***********

After they had all repotted the kicking, screaming Mandrakes, the exhausted Gryffindors traipsed back up to the castle.

"What's next?" Ron whined.

"Transfiguration."

"How did you know that?"

"Because," Hermione said irritably,"I've memorized the entire timetable."

"How?"

"What do you mean, how?"

"I mean, how can you remember the whole timetable?"

"It's easy. There really isn't much to remember, Ron."

"Um, are you saying that five lessons a day for a whole week is easy for you to remember? I still haven't memorized last year's one!"

"That's because you didn't try."

"I did try!"

"Well then, try harder this year." She snapped.

"But it's the first day of school and you know the timetable already? I don't believe you..."

"Well, you should believe me." Hermione snarled, nostrils flaring.

"Alright! Merlin, someone's in a state."

Hermione let out a low growl and stormed away from the boys.

"What's her problem?"

"Shut up, Ron."

McGonagall's classes were always a lot of work, but this time, it was worse than ever. Everything Harry and Ron had learnt last year seemed to have just leaked out of their heads and, to make things worse for Ron, his wand was still broken. He had tried in vain to fix it with a large roll of Spellotape that Seamus had lent him, but Harry still thought that it would be best if Ron just faced the music and wrote home to his parents about his wand, even if he stretched the truth a little bit. Ron, however, was adamant that his mother could not know about his broken wand as he desperately did not want to be sent home. Or have to see them before Christmas at least.

They were each given a small jar of beetles that they were meant to be turning into buttons. Harry couldn't get any of his to stay still, and Ron repeatedly engulfed them both in a foul-smelling grey smoke.

"Bloody - useless - thing!" He whacked his wand on the table furiously as the rest of the class filed out of the room for lunch.

Harry didn't dare suggest that Ron write home for another one.

"Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall called to Hermione who was standing by the door, waiting for the boys,"I'm giving Gryffindor house ten points for your excellent work today."

"Thank you, Professor." She strode over to Ron and Harry,"What on earth are you trying to do?"

Ron stopped hitting his wand on the table and sighed,"I don't know."

"I take it you weren't able to transfigure any beetles, then?"

"Oh, just tell us how many you did and get it over with, already!"

"Thirty-two."

"Thirty-two?"

Hermione nodded,"It's really not that hard, you know. You've just got to make sure that the beetle is-"

"Shut up, Hermione, you're worse than Justin."

"We have Defence Against the Dark Arts after lunch." Hermione sniffed,"I take it you didn't know that." She turned sharply on her heel and left.

Ron gaped after her,"You don't think she actually knows, do you?"

"Knows what?" Harry asked him.

"That I've already lost my copy of the timetable."

***********

Once Ron and Harry had finished eating their lunch, they wandered out to the courtyard, where they found Hermione. She was sitting alone on a bench reading Quidditch Through the Ages. As soon as he spotted her, Ron stopped walking. Harry, however, sped up and sat down next to her.

"Ignore Ron." Harry said,"He doesn't mean it. The Howler's still bugging him."

"Something's always bugging him." Hermione said sourly before shutting her book and looking back up at Harry,"Thank you, though. It is nice to have a-" She trailed off, as though her words had slipped out of their own accord.

"-to have a proper friend? Yeah, I know what you mean. I didn't have anyone back in the Muggle world. They all hated me, just because Dudley told them to. They'd hit me and call me names but I almost knew that things were going to start getting better. I'd hoped that senior school would do it for me, but it turns out this is way better. I never could have imagined that a place like Hogwarts could ever exist."

Hermione gazed wistfully up at the astronomy tower,"I always used to dream about this sort of place. Somewhere that I could go without being teased or laughed at. Perhaps this isn't it..."

"Are you joking, Hermione? There's always going to be people that try and put you down, but you can't let them. You're the smartest person I've ever met and all those people who laugh at you are just jealous. And you know what? They should be! You're brilliant, okay? Those people can't stop you from being brilliant. Hey, d'you know what makes a really tough person? Staying strong in the face of adversity, whether it be big or small. You, Hermione, are a strong person, okay?"

"Wow." Hermione sniffled,"I honestly didn't think you had that in you, Harry Potter."

"Well, I had some pretty good teachers at my old school." Harry grinned.

"Thank you." Hermione placed her head on Harry's shoulder,"Thank you."

"What are friends for?"

They were silent for a minute before Hermione spoke up again.

"Harry? I think we should talk about that thing that happened in Diagon Alley." She moved her head off of his shoulder.

"Yes, we should."

"All right, Harry?" A small, jumpy boy holding a Muggle camera approached them. As soon as Harry looked at him, he turned red,"I'm Colin Creevey. I'm in Gryffindor too! D'you think I could - would it be okay if I - may I please - can I have a picture?" Colin said breathlessly.

"Oh - a picture?" Harry repeated blankly.

"Just so that I can prove that I met you."

"Oh." Harry still hadn't quite gotten used to the fact that he was famous.

"I know all about you - just like everyone else - and that you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and that he disappeared and everything and how you've got a lightning scar on your forehead and a boy in my dormitory said that if I put the camera film in the right potion I can make them move - oh wow it's amazing here isn't it? I never knew all this stuff we could do when I got my letter because my dad's just a milkman so he couldn't believe it either so I'm taking him loads of pictures home and it would be great if I had one of you because you're really famous and everything and I want people to know that I knew you and maybe your friend could take it so that I could stand next to you and then maybe - if you wanted to and only if you really wanted to - you could sign it for me because that would be really great, wouldn't it? A signed photo of Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the chosen one - yes it would be amazing, I'd love it, Harry - but only if you really don't mind because if you do then you don't have to but if it's okay then can I have a signed photo of you please?"

"Colin!" Hermione squealed,"Breathe, please!"

"Sorry."

"Giving out signed photos now, are we, Potter?" Draco Malfoy snarled, approaching them with Crabbe and Goyle haughtily.

"No, I'm not." Harry said angrily, standing up and clenching his fists,"Shut up, Malfoy."

"You're just jealous!" Colin said. His entire body was thinner than Goyle's neck, Harry noticed.

"Shut up, Colin." Hermione stood up and pulled on Colin's cloak so that he stepped backwards.

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous of Harry Potter? You think I want a foul scar across my forehead, dead parents and pathetic glasses? Psh, no thanks."

"Shut up, Malfoy." Hermione snarled.

"Still need a little girl to protect you, eh Potter? Pity. I'd have liked to think that 'The Boy Who Lived' would be able to pick his own fights, but perhaps we're all doomed."

"Shut up, Malfoy." Hermione repeated venomously.

Malfoy gave a malevolent grin and shouted,"Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"

"Shut-" Hermione was interrupted by a very familiar source of flamboyance.

"What's all this about signed photos?" Lockhart bounded out of the castle, pushing past Ron who was still where he had stopped, talking with Seamus and Dean.

"Harry Potter, Sir!" Malfoy pointed a finger directly at Harry's face.

"Ah, of course. Shouldn't have asked. Okay, Harry, a side-by-side portrait should be enough. Mister Creevey, snap away!" Lockhart pinned Harry to his side.

Colin made to get into position, but Hermione snapped,"He's not giving out signed photos."

Colin whimpered.

"Harry!" Lockhart gasped,"Surely you can't be making people pay for their photos? No, no, no! That's not the way to do it!"

Harry moved his mouth but could not speak.

"No one's getting signed photos." Hermione's beaded eyes met the Professor's rounded ones.

"Oh. Well, perhaps just one, for this poor little boy here." He pointed to Colin and peered hopefully at Harry,"We'll both sign it for you."

Harry thought about it for a second,"Okay, fine. Just one, though Colin, alright?"

Colin let out a long giggle as he snapped the picture. Lockhart pulled a colourful quill from his pocket and swished it across Colin's picture once it had printed out from the back of the old Muggle camera. Harry then found the quill being stuffed into his hand. He scrawled his name next to Lockhart's indecipherable, swirly signature and gave him his quill back just as the clock tower signalled the end of lunch.

"Oh thank you Professor Lockhart and thank you Harry Potter - I'm so happy that you've signed my picture and I-"

"Colin, you have to go to your class now." Harry carefully reminded him.

"Oh, right. It was a real honour to meet you, Harry Potter, a real honour indeed!" He scampered off.

Harry quickly scanned the courtyard. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle stood, cackling with laughter in front of Harry. Ron, Dean and Seamus stood by the main entrance, glaring at him. Colin was bounding back to the castle like an overexcited puppy. Lockhart was strutting past the Slytherin boys and instructing them to hurry along to their lessons. Hermione was picking up her bag behind Harry. He turned around and smiled at her.

"Thanks for trying to stop Malfoy and Lockhart, Hermione."

"What are friends for?" She smiled up at him as they walked back into the castle after Lockhart, inwardly bracing themselves for the torturous Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson that they knew awaited them.